In silico modeling of data-poor substances migrating from polymer-based drinking water distribution materials

“Polymer-based materials (i.e., plastic pipes and connection parts) are a main component of most modern drinking water distribution networks. Although these materials undergo rigorous safety testing, scientific literature continues to report the migration of trace amounts of substances, from these materials into drinking water. The exposure level to the consumer as well as associated hazards and risks that these substances may pose to human health and the environment remain unclear. The current student research project (Dec 2024 – Sept 2025) aimed to identify data- poor migrating substances and predict their mutagenic potential by performing in silico toxicity analysis using (Q)SARs and read-across tools. Ames mutagenicity –an important human toxicity endpoint – was selected for this analysis for its robust experimental dataset in the in silico models used, as in silico tools rely on the presence of abundant and reliable experimental data to create predictions.”

(Citation: Ashcraft, B. – In silico modeling of data-poor substances migrating from polymer-based drinking water distribution materials – SR 2025.007 – Supervised by Milou Dingemans and Renske Hoondert (2025))